Heartbeat
by Kyahbell
Summary: "He glanced down at the limp body in his arms, his dark wet hair falling into his face as he did, and he felt his heart contract in both pain and fear. They were so close, but he was afraid he'd already failed to save her" Punk/OC - repost.


**A/N : This is a repost! because at some point between writing it and posting it... my computer ate several sections of the story... and it ceased to make sense. I can't even explain it.**

**So here it is again.**

**The song is "Heartbeat" by the Fray. Lyrics are in bold... ummm. Flashbacks are in italics.**

**Punk isn't mine. Obviously.**

**I apologise to all those who tagged the first attempt or reviewed it. ... please do so again. Acknowledgement is amazing and it makes me happy dance.**

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><p>"<em><strong>We're on an open bed truck on the highway<strong>_

_**The rain is coming down and we're on the run…**__**"**_

The rain did not deter Phil. It didn't even slow him down. He could see the old truck just up ahead, its back lights the only thing making it stand out. They were nearly there. The ground in the trailer park had turned to mush and it was so dark their surroundings had melted into the black void of the storm that had begun only a half hour before. He glanced down at the limp body in his arms, his dark wet hair falling into his face as he did, and he felt his heart contract in both pain and fear. They were so close, but he was afraid he'd already failed to save her.

He didn't even hesitate when he reached the vehicle. He gently placed the young woman in his arms onto the bed of the truck before climbing on himself, taking considerably less care of his own body. He gave three short taps on the roof of the cab and felt the driver lurch the ancient beast forward. He dropped onto the bed of the truck and took the woman into his arms again, holding her as close to himself as he could.

Phil pressed his face into her neck gently, careful not to press too hard on the vicious bruises that were no doubt already forming on her perfect skin, and letting his quiet sobs be washed away by the downpour. If anyone who knew him were to see him in this moment of vulnerability, or even anyone who didn't, they would not believe it. His long black hair, the tattoos that covered his well formed arms, chest and stomach and his various piercings gave the impression of someone who couldn't feel anything. Or chose not to. It was a common misconception. He was passionate about a lot of things. None more so than the woman he was holding onto in the rain as they made their escape

As he sat there with her, taking in the faint scent of her perfume that had all but been eradicated by the rain, he couldn't help but think everything they had just been through was for nothing and he briefly wondered why he was bothering to run if she wasn't going to be there to make it worth it.

He pressed himself closer to her cold wet body, wishing that none of it had happened. Wishing they had found another way to free her from her confines. Wishing he were a better man, one that she deserved and would leave no doubt in anyone's mind that he was the best thing for her, instead of a man who caused a rift in a family that there was no hope of mending. Wishing she would open her eyes.

He couldn't bring himself to tell the driver that he was certain she was dead. That there was little point in driving through the night to put distance between them and their past. He couldn't bring himself to tell the driver that he was too scared to check her pulse, to place his hands on her small wrists and feel nothing. To have his worst fears confirmed.

"_**Think I can feel the breath in your body..."**_

Phil had almost dozed off despite the weather and his own fears, when he felt her stomach rise and fall beneath his hand. He sat perfectly still, his head still tucked in between her neck and her shoulder, holding his own breath. Again her stomach rose and fell. She was breathing. She was alive.

He couldn't help the grin that dawned on his features, the one that reached his eyes and lit them up. Now they were free.

"_**We gotta keep on running til we see the sun" **_he told her softly, whispering the words in her ear, hoping she would hear him. She didn't stir, but it was enough for Phil that she was still with him. He moved his hand from her stomach to her chest and a small laugh of relief escaped him. He could feel her heart beating. It was faint. Barely even noticeable. But it was there.

"_**Oh, you got a fire and it's burning in the rain **_

_**Thought that it went out, but it's burning just the same **_

_**And you don't look back, not for anything **_

'_**Cause if you love someone, you love them just the same **_

_**If you love someone, you love them just the same"**_

"I thought I'd lost you baby," he murmured to her. "I should have known that even what we went through back there wouldn't break you." He still held her to him, hoping that the cold from the rain and the wind and the night wouldn't make her worse. He pressed his lips to her forehead, momentarily lifting his hand that had been resting on her chest to wipe her ash blonde hair from her face. He wished that she would wake up. He needed her to look at him with those dark brown eyes and give him the strength he needed to get them through this. He could be strong for her up to his last breath, but the truth was that he was weak without her. "I love you" he told her confidently.

"_**Oh, I feel your heartbeat**_

_**And you're coming around, coming around coming around**_

_**If you can love somebody, love them all the same**_

_**You gotta love somebody, love them all the same**_

_**Oh, I feel your heartbeat**_

Phil had only just placed his hand back over her heart, finding comfort in the rhythm and confirmation that he wasn't alone, when she let out a soft groan and slowly opened her eyes.

"Kayla?" he called to her, unable to hope that she was really conscious and looking up at him. She turned her head slightly at the sound of his voice, wincing slightly, and looked up into his own green eyes, the slightest of smiles gracing her lips.

"Hey there Punk" she murmured, her voice affected by the damage to her throat.

He grinned at the term of endearment. He loved her with everything he had and nothing that had happened that night, or in their past or what waited for them in their future would change it.

"What happened?" She asked, coughing a little and moving her body closer to his, trying to escape the cold.

Phil sighed. All he had wanted was for her to wake up and be okay. Now, he almost wished she wasn't. He wasn't ready to tell her everything that had happened. He didn't want to see the pain and the fear and the sadness that would appear in her eyes.

"Tell me" she insisted.

_Phil had tried to talk her out of it for weeks before it happened. He loved her more than life, but he didn't want her family to turn their back on her; something he knew they would do if she pushed the issue about wanting to spend her life with him. They thought she was too young, only just seventeen. They thought he was too old for her, having recently turned twenty four. They thought he was nothing, that he would amount to nothing before knocking her up and abandoning her. The cliché made him see red, it was so far from who he was, but it was something that he was willing to spend his life proving wrong if it meant that Kayla could have her family._

_Kayla, however, would not be swayed. She told him she knew her family better than anyone. It wasn't that they wanted what was best for her. They just didn't want her to have what she wanted They resented the fact that they were stuck in a small town, in a broken down caravan park without any money and without any hope while Phil had given her a chance for more. Something that Kayla was determined to keep, even if it meant going through with her insane plot to escape. Phil had never been able to say no to her for very long._

_After weeks of trying to persuade her not to, then weeks of formulating a plan with her when he failed, Phil found himself sitting on the back of his best friend, Scott's beaten up truck, waiting for Kayla to meet him so they could 'run away'. He found the idea mildly amusing and it caused him to smile. He had legally been an adult for years, but was about to run away. Kayla had him wrapped around her little finger, something that he should probably resent, but didn't mind at all._

_Ten minutes later, Kayla still hadn't arrived and Phil immediately began to worry. He was about to move around to the cab of the truck to tell Scott he was going to go and get her, when the shrill scream that could have only been Kayla pierced the air. Phil was off and running through the trailer park in a flash._

_When he arrived at her home he found Kayla out the front being restrained by her older brother as her father screamed at her._

"_You're not going anywhere with that dead beat Punk. I will not allow it. You will stay here, even if I have to lock you up"_

_Phil saw Kayla laugh harshly at her father and his heart swelled at the fire she had. It was one of his favourite things about her, but in that moment it may have been her worst quality._

"_Phil is not a deadbeat. And you are nothing but a hypocrite. You can't even afford a proper house for mom! You are the loser and you hate the thought of anyone else succeeding" she hissed._

_The backhand from her father was sudden, the loud crack echoing through the night and running down Phil's spine. His reaction was instant. He crossed the distance between him and John – the monster that was Kayla's father – and without pause, without hestitation, drove his right fist into the man's jaw. John stumbled, then fell. Kayla's brother released her instantly and lunged for Phil, sending them both to the ground in a struggling tangle._

_When Phil finally managed to force Kayla's brother off him, he sat up in time to see Kayla's father had regained his footing and had his hands wrapped around Kayla's throat, slowly choking the life out of her as she feebly struggled against him._

"_I told you, you're not going anywhere with that punk. If I have to kill you so be it!" he was telling her. Kayla's mother just stood by, her head in her hands sobbing quietly and her brother just watched their father silently as Kayla's hands feebly reached out to her father, trying to save herself._

"_NO" Phil growled, getting to his feet and once again running for the man. Unable to charge him without taking Kayla out in the process, Phil stopped short. The man's back was to him, and Phil took the opportunity he likely would not have again. He landed a flying kick to the side of John's head, putting as much force into the blow as he could muster. The blow was enough to not only break John's hold on his daughter, but to render him unconscious. He fell backwards and landed awkwardly on the ground. Phil was unsure if he was alive or dead, but in that moment he didn't care. He turned to Kayla who was on the ground, unmoving and lifeless._

"_Kayla?" he called softly as he knelt by her side and with a gesture that was so gentle it seemed foreign coming from him, he brushed the hair from her face, hoping that she would wake up at the sound of his voice. She didn't, and as he took a hold of her hand, Phil noticed that someone was standing over them._

_John had once again dragged himself up, and in the few moments Phil had been tending to Kayla, had gone back into their trailer and returned with a shotgun._

"_You are going to get the fuck away from my traitorous daughter, or I'll kill you both right now" he told him calmly, pointing the muzzle of the gun under Phil's chin._

_Phil stared up at him in disbelief. The hatred in the man's eyes was so intense and he couldn't understand how someone could find their way to feeling that for their own child, especially Kayla, who was so completely pure and beautiful, everyone who met her immediately adored her. He should have been proud of his only daughter, but he was so consumed by his own failures and pathetic life, he could only despise her._

_Phil held the man's gaze as he pushed himself to a standing position. Even though John towered over him by a good three inches he didn't back down and he refused to create any kind of distance between them despite the weapon that John held between them._

"_You're completely insane" Phil commented his voice own voice sounding confident. It was stating the obvious, and Phil had little belief that it would change the situation, but he had never been known for subtlety._

"_This is my family and I make the rules" John sneered, "Now get the fuck off my property. You're never to see that little bitch again"_

_Phil refused to move from his position, shielding Kayla from the madman before him. He wasn't about to walk away and leave her in this man's hands. John would have to kill him first._

_They stood completely still for a few agonising moments, staring each other down, the muzzle of the gun resting against Phil's chest, before Phil suddenly lunged at the man for the third time. His hands closed around the gun and John began to struggle to free it from Phil's grasp. The struggle seemed to go on forever before the tell tale sign of the gun going off seemed to stop time._

_Kayla's mother let out an ear piercing shriek at the sound, breaking the spell and kick starting time once again. Her brother made a move to rush forward to the two men fighting, before he stopped – unsure of how to proceed._

_Phil automatically looked down at his own body to check for injury. He was unharmed. John, however dropped the gun to the ground before falling himself, the heavy flow of blood showing who had lost the fight._

_Kayla's mother's quiet sobs had reached a painful volume and her brother rushed to their father's aid. Phil didn't wait to watch the drama unfold however. He turned, scooped the still unconscious Kayla into his arms and rushed out of the park. He desperately wanted to see if she was okay, but he didn't dare stop. They could not still be here when the police were called. Kayla couldn't stay here with her family any longer. Not with the way they treated her, and especially not now that he had made things so much worse. He was no longer a young man running away with the love of his life. He was a criminal running away with the love of his life who, thanks to him, had no one left but the man who had destroyed her own family._

Phil finished the long and painful story then watched for Amy's reaction. She said nothing for the longest moment, but even in the dark Phil could tell that tears had filled her eyes. It broke his heart to know that he had caused them.

"I'm so sorry baby" he told her, desperate for her to forgive him. She didn't reply.

"_**I know the memories are rushing into mind **_

_**I wanna kiss your scars tonight, baby**_

'_**Cause you gotta try**_

_**You gotta let me in**_

_**Let me in..."**_

He didn't say anything else. Instead he continued to hold her to him, thankful that she was still allowing him to touch her, even if it wasn't going to last.

"I remember" she finally told him. Nodding her head at the images that were obviously flooding her memory. Phil could hear the fear in her voice.

"Are you okay Kayla? What can I do to make this right? I never wanted it to go down like that. I'll do what ever you want me to" He said earnestly.

Kayla was still quiet, as though she was thinking over everything that had happened. It scared Phil to death to think that she might be trying to decide if he had been worth everything they had been through.

"Let me in babe" he whispered. If she decided that she couldn't be with him... that she couldn't even stand looking at him any more, he needed to know. He needed to be put out of his misery.

Finally Kayla turned to look at him, studying his face for a moment before a shy smile formed on her face. Phil watched her in amazement.

"You're an idiot" she told him. Phil laughed quietly at her observation.

"I don't blame you for any of this. I knew what my family was like. I knew what could happen."

"I destroyed your family" Phil pointed out sadly.

Kayla reached up, placing her hand on his cheek. "No. My family destroyed themselves. It started long before I met you. I'm in love with you. You were always my only choice. Not them. I won't let you blame yourself."

"And I won't be the reason that the fire you have, that I love so much, goes out from grief and guilt" Phil countered.

Kayla's smile widened, before disappearing completely as she bowed her head to look at her hand.

Phil was about to say something to her, to try and comfort her as best he could, but she looked back up into his eyes, a shy and embarrassed look on her face.

"What?" Phil asked curiously.

Kayla smiled softly once again and moved to whisper in his ear "If I promise I won't let that fire you love so much go out, will you..." She paused, unsure of how to word her request. "will you put out the fire you started?"

Phil could barely hear her, her voice was so quiet. He ran through what she said in his head quickly before he froze.

He tilted her chin so she was looking at him again "Are you asking what I think you're asking?"

Kayla nodded quickly, trying to break the gaze. She was embarrassed and shy, and Phil was sure his heart was going to explode from how adorable he found her in that moment.

"Here? In the back of a truck, in the rain?" he continued, unsure if she had really thought this through.

Kayla nodded again, still trying to avoid looking at him. Phil laughed softly at her shyness. He couldn't deny her anything though. Rather than try to talk her out of it, Phil ran a hand through her hair before slowly bringing his lips to hers in a gentle kiss.

Kayla smiled into him and Phil felt her hands wrap around his neck as she pressed her body closer to his.

He moved the both of them so they were lying down in the back of the truck, before moving his hand to the hem of her shirt. He trailed his hand up the cold, wet skin of her stomach, pulling her shirt up in the process. He was completely mesmerised by the way she felt under his hands and the way she lifted her body slightly to allow him to lift the shirt over her head, before she tugged his own shirt off his body.

Her hands on his own stomach caused a shudder to run through him as he grazed his hand back down her side, before bringing it back to rest on her chest. He found her lips again, kissing her slowly and suffocating a groan when she opened her mouth to allow his tongue to tease hers.

He moved to her neck, trailing a line of kisses from her ear to her collarbone before something made him stop. He lifted his head to look down at her, a grin spreading across his face.

"What?" Kayla asked. Her breathing was already laboured and Phil loved that he could make her react like that.

"What are you grinning at Punk?" She demanded.

"I can feel your heartbeat" Phil told her simply, glancing down at the hand he had still resting on her chest. He was still in awe that he could, after being convinced that he would never feel it again.

Kayla smiled up at him as she placed her own hand over his, her smile telling him that she understood what he meant. She then brought both her hands up to entwine around his neck and pulled him down to her, kissing him fiercely.

"_**Oh, I feel your heartbeat**_

_**And you're coming around, coming around, coming around If you can love somebody**_

_**You gotta, you gotta love somebody**_

_**You gotta, you gotta**_

_**Oh, I feel your heartbeat."**_


End file.
